WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has escalated air
strikes against al-Qaeda fighters operating in Pakistan's
tribal areas fearing that support from Islamabad may slip away,
The Washington Post reported on Thursday.

U.S. officials, who were not identified, said Washington
wants to inflict as much damage as it can to al Qaeda's network
now because Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf may not be
able to offer much help in the months ahead.

Musharraf, a vital U.S. ally in the campaign against
terrorism who has generally supported such strikes, has seen
his power wane dramatically over the past year.

Over the past two months, U.S.-controlled Predator aircraft
have struck at least three sites used by al-Qaeda operatives,
the Post reported.

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About 45 Arab, Afghan and other foreign fighters have been
killed in the attacks, all near the Afghan border, U.S. and
Pakistani officials were cited as saying.

Neither U.S. nor Pakistani authorities officially confirm
U.S. missile attacks on Pakistani territory, which would be an
infringement of Pakistani sovereignty.

Many al Qaeda members, including Uzbeks and Arabs, and
Taliban militants took refuge in North and South Waziristan, as
well as in other areas on the Pakistani side of the border
after U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban in Afghanistan in
2001.

According to the Post, the goal was partly to try to get
information on senior al-Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin
Laden, by forcing them to move in ways that U.S. intelligence
analysts can detect.

Citing an administration official, the report said the
campaign was not specifically designed to capture bin Laden
before U.S. President George W. Bush leaves office in January.

"It's not a blitz to close this chapter," a senior official
who spoke on the condition of anonymity told the newspaper. "If
we find the leadership, then we'll go after it. But nothing can
be done to put al-Qaeda away in the next nine or 10 months. In
the long haul, it's an issue that extends beyond this
administration."